http://guavagraphics.com Simple, Beautiful and Effective Results. Mon, 23 Apr 2012 22:44:26 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://guavagraphics.com/easy-web-wordpress-as-cms/ http://guavagraphics.com/easy-web-wordpress-as-cms/#comments Fri, 12 Nov 2010 18:12:57 +0000 admin http://guavagraphics.com/?p=442 www.wordpress.org) has been around for quite while. Starting as a blog platform, it quickly grew to the viable CMS platform you see today. A Content Management System (CMS) is software that helps you organize and maintain your web content. WordPress offers a fantastic CMS that creates and manages your links, pages, and posts for your site. The free open source application has been developed to be user friendly and is the most popular platform. It is as easy to use as e-mail, Microsoft Word, and Facebook, which is perfect for the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) folks.  Additionally, it saves you time and money, giving you the control. Using WordPress can have a huge web impact for any small to medium size business. Here’s a list of some of the high impact free tools WordPress has to offer:

• Easy one click installation.
• Content maintenance without knowing HTML.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is free, out of the box. Google loves WordPress!
• Your site can grow with your business, enhanced functionality, features and security can be added at any time.
• Support is easy to find, just look for Guava Graphics.

If you are interested in getting a professional website designed, supported or optimized, please call us.]]> http://guavagraphics.com/easy-web-wordpress-as-cms/feed/ 0 http://guavagraphics.com/mobile-app-vs-mobile-website/ http://guavagraphics.com/mobile-app-vs-mobile-website/#comments Mon, 07 Jun 2010 23:04:43 +0000 Susan Venancio http://guavagraphics.com/?p=391

Is developed for a specific mobile device, download and installation required.

Updates, download and installation required.

Development required for each mobile device platform.

Your business will need a very large budget with a well-defined strategy to get top rankings to be found with the search engines.

App store approvals may be required.

Ability to use all GPS, camera, voice, RFID, address book, calendar capabilities.

There can be publishing/certifications fees.

Costs more to develop/maintain. Consider your businesses updates, plus updates as devices change.

Sales revenues are shared with app store.

User has full control and is seamlessly integrated with the mobile device.

Mobile Website

• Is developed specifically for mobile devices, no downloads or installation required.
• Updates automatically available.
• Runs on all web enabled mobile devices.
• A good SEO marketing strategy will increase your traffic volume.
• Anyone can access your mobile website.
• For security and privacy concerns access to address books/calendars are limited.
• No publishing/certification fees.
• Costs less to develop/maintain. Your developer has complete access for updates when requested.
• Sales revenues are the businesses.
• User experience depends on your mobile website design.

Understanding the who, what, and where of your user base will also be of great benefit to you. Even though mobile apps are all the rage in popularity and lots of fun, look at all your options to pick the best solution for your business to go mobile style. Please choose your mobile style wisely. And remember to be a responsible mobile device user. Cheers!]]> http://guavagraphics.com/mobile-app-vs-mobile-website/feed/ 0 http://guavagraphics.com/your-homepage/ http://guavagraphics.com/your-homepage/#comments Tue, 01 Jun 2010 22:00:58 +0000 Susan Venancio http://guavagraphics.com/?p=387

An effective tagline: make it memorable and clear with 3-7 words that reflects the personality of your company.

A visible title tag: Using 65-70 characters or less; starting with your company name followed by the use of relevant keywords and/or phrases relevant to homepage searches.

An “About” section: Provide a place to give more details about your company.

5 Items: List the top 5 most important things your users will gain from your web site.

An easy to find and use search box.

Show your best articles, products, and promotions, etc. on your homepage.

Links need to be listed by relevant words to be visitor friendly.

Archive: Provide an archive of featured homepage articles, product, and promotions, etc.

Keep it simple: Avoid elaborate illustrations, boxes, and colors.

Meaningful images: Your homepage images should create a lasting impression that best reflects your company.

Add value to your business by enhancing your web site’s homepage by utilizing these suggestions. It is well worth the investment. Make your visitor’s happy today! Cheers!]]> http://guavagraphics.com/your-homepage/feed/ 0 http://guavagraphics.com/selecting-a-domain-name/ http://guavagraphics.com/selecting-a-domain-name/#comments Wed, 14 Apr 2010 20:07:47 +0000 Susan Venancio http://guavagraphics.com/?p=328 Creating your business presence on the Internet is very important to its success; your domain name is the main attraction, so plan carefully. If possible, start first with your domain name rather than a company name, this way you can clearly market and promote your niche on the web and in print. The consistency in what you call your business and web site makes it easy for your customers to remember. That’s what you want! Selecting your domain name may turn out to be a daunting task, but an important one. You want it right the first time. Some helpful tips are:

• Brainstorm as many words as possible that you prefer and are related to your niche.
• List your niche keywords, which would be words used when searching for a web site in the search engines or directories. Try a combination. Also, the smaller and more defined your niche is the less competition you will have and the easier the search engines will find you.
• Make sure all your word choices are easy to remember, easy to type, and easy to spell. Avoid any confusing possibilities.
• Then make a selection of your favorite unique options, followed by searching for the availability.

Here are some tools and services to help you along the way. http://ajaxwhois.com/ and http://www.domjax.com/ are tools to make your domain search effortless. http://www.nameboy.com/ can search and generate a domain name based on your primary and secondary word choices. http://www.dnscoop.com/ has statistics and estimates a domain name value. Oh, I should mention a couple more things. First, you do not have to purchase your domain name from the above tools and services. Go to a registrar of your choice when you are ready. Second, be aware, domain names can cost under $10, read the fine print, registrars make more money by selling you packaged services. Pay for what you need. Good luck and have fun!]]> http://guavagraphics.com/selecting-a-domain-name/feed/ 0 http://guavagraphics.com/top-10-business-web-site-mistakes/ http://guavagraphics.com/top-10-business-web-site-mistakes/#comments Mon, 22 Mar 2010 12:02:39 +0000 Susan Venancio http://guavagraphics.com/?p=296 Today, in doing research I came across “Top 10 Business Web Site Mistakes” at http://www.allbusiness.com/technology/internet-web-development/4015-1.html. I loved the article. I continued my journey, clicking through more articles, reading more and more information on the site, thinking this is great, it’s full of fantastic information, I need to share this. So, take a look at, http://www.allbusiness.com/, for yourself. I hope you find this to be a helpful tool, as I did. There is so much offered, any growing business will find it useful. Make sure to take a look at their RSS directory and newsletter subscriptions.]]> http://guavagraphics.com/top-10-business-web-site-mistakes/feed/ 0 http://guavagraphics.com/deep-breath-before-you-jump/ http://guavagraphics.com/deep-breath-before-you-jump/#comments Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:13:02 +0000 Jose Bono http://guavagraphics.com/?p=217 What most business owners realize in this economic downturn is the decrease in revenue. So naturally, cutting back on the overhead will save the day …right? Trimming the fat will determine our future …right? Limiting or eliminating spending on marketing is the right move …right? Don’t make the mistake of assuming all businesses are pulling back on their initiatives. In fact, your competitors may be counting on your nervousness. Now is the time to strategize and market smarter. Targeting your audience, targeting those personas on your website, improving your e-marketing plan … those need to happen now. How the heck do we know this? As a service provider to many businesses in California and the east coast, we are seeing the trend of scaling down on expensive ads and shot-gun tactics to sharpshooting optimized techniques. The best part … it’s working. They are seeing real results in this economy. Real visitors, real conversions, real sales. What should you do? You should start … start somewhere. Start online. Here are 4 real goals for your business:

1. Email your customers – send them a straight forward email about your new deals, new products and more. Use inexpensive services like Constant Contact (www.constantcontact.com) to help you achieve this.
2. Freshen up Your Website – even if it’s just a couple new images and new content, you need to do it now.
3. Be Found – Google is your friend. Be sure to add your business to Google’s free local business listings (www.google.com/local/add). Yes it’s free!
4. Socialize – get your Facebook page and Twitter account set up for your business. Your competition may be doing this already. It’s just one more audience that you’re not taking advantage of – And it’s free.

So don’t panic. Take a deep breath before you jump. The water’s fine. You can still market to people in this environment successfully.]]> http://guavagraphics.com/deep-breath-before-you-jump/feed/ 0